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New Fiat Cinquecento to be sold at Jacksonville dealers

It's smaller than a Mini, yet as Italian as a Ferrari for a twelfth of the cost.

Now Fiat has finally picked two Jacksonville dealers to sell the little Cinquecento (500), six months after the first ones went on sale elsewhere in the U.S.

Letters of intent have been executed with Terry Taylor, who owns Jacksonville Chrysler Jeep Dodge Jacksonville off Florida 9A and Baymeadows Road, and Jack Hanania, who owns five dealerships on Blanding Boulevard. The little 101-hp coupes and convertibles should be on sale there by next year.

Hanania said Fiat approached him in February and he liked the idea of selling a cute, fuel-efficient car. With his recent purchase of Orange Park Mitsubishi at 8105 Blanding Blvd., Fiat fits fine there.

"Everybody is conscious about fuel efficiency and Fiat coming back to America is great," Hanania said. "There is a used car building next door [to Mitsubishi] that will make a perfect fit."

Jacksonville Chrysler general manager Ken Kovacs said Fiat also came to them. He "feels great" about the new addition to the family, saying the 500 will appeal to lots of people.

"Fuel economy is one factor, then there is a coolness factor to the car and the styling will bring people in," he said.

Fiat and Chrysler formed a global alliance in 2009 as the American car company was undergoing bankruptcy reorganization. The new company now makes Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram trucks and Fiats, bringing the Italian company back into the U.S. for the first time since it left these shores in 1984.

Different Fiat models will cross the ocean in years to come, while its Alfa Romeo brand could return in 2012. For now, there's a Fiat 500 three-door hatchback and a convertible, with electric and Abarth performance models scheduled soon. Averaging about 29-mpg, a base Fiat 500 starts at $15,500, just under a base (5-inch longer) Mini Cooper, its closest competitor.

Fiat wanted Chrysler dealerships to have the first shot at opening "Fiat Studios," but has let other dealers apply, said spokesman Ralph Kisiel. Since Florida has the second-highest number of dealerships outside of California, Jacksonville was a good place for two more, he said.

"We looked at markets where the 500 and offshoots would succeed and where are people buying small cars," Kisiel said.

Hanania owns Acura, Audi, Volkswagen and Hyundai dealerships on a Westside Jacksonville stretch of Blanding Boulevard, his new Mitsubishi dealership a few blocks away. That's where the new Fiat of Orange Park and its 20 employees will go once renovations are done early next year, he said. Jacksonville Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram's Southside dealership will add a new Fiat of Jacksonville studio in nine to 12 months, with about 10 staff, said Kovacs.

Fiat has 102 U.S. dealerships, with 12 in Florida. It will have 130 by the end of the year, Kisiel said.